BBC News - Merkel condemns planned burning of Koran by US pastor

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has described as "abhorrent" a US pastor's plan to burn the Koran.

Pastor Terry Jones has threatened to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Saturday by burning up to 200 Korans.

Mrs Merkel said she found the idea "simply wrong."

She was addressing an event honouring Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard whose caricature of the Prophet Muhammad enraged Muslims.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

Britain's railways named as Europe's most expensive | World news | The Guardian

Britain's railway system is often derided as the poor man of European transport, but its repeated problems with rising costs landed it with the title of the continent's most expensive network today.

Network Rail races ahead of its foreign peers in the cost of laying track, revamping signal boxes and repairing overhead lines, stoking an inflationary spiral in the industry that feeds into higher fares.

The rail regulator underlined the disparity by revealing that the owner of Britain's railway tracks and stations is up to 40% less efficient than European rivals including Germany, Ireland and Belgium.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

Phone hacking was rife at News of the World, claims new witness | Media | The Guardian

A senior former News of the World journalist goes public to corroborate claims that phone hacking and other illegal reporting techniques were rife at the tabloid while the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, was deputy editor and then editor of the paper.

Paul McMullan, a former features executive and then member of the newspaper's investigations team, says that he personally commissioned private investigators to commit several hundred acts which could be regarded as unlawful, that the use of illegal techniques was no secret at the paper and that senior editors, including Coulson, were aware that this was going on.

"How can Coulson possibly say he didn't know what was going on with the private investigators?" he said.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

France24 - Unions call for new strikes on Sept. 23 over pension reform

French unions have called for a further day of strikes on Sept. 23 after President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday's mass protests would not derail plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

The announcement on Wednesday came a day after more than one million people (2.5 million according to union sources) took to the street in protest at French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 by 2018.   Six major unions issued a joint statement saying they were not satisfied by the minor modifications offered by  the president on Wednesday, saying they wanted to make Sept. 23 "a major day of strikes and demonstrations" to fight the reforms.  

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Serbia agrees to Kosovo dialogue | RFI

Serbia has agreed to call for "dialogue" with Kosovo in a draft UN resolution that will also strengthen the EU's mediating role in the dispute, officials and experts said on Wednesday. The draft resolution, which is set to go before the UN General Assembly, now "presents a compromise which Serbia has reached in cooperation with the European Union", Serbia's government said in a statement.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Earth Times News: EU parliament tells France to stop Roma expulsions 'immediately'

EU lawmakers expressed "deep concern" for measures "taken by French authorities and by other (EU) member states authorities" and urged "those authorities immediately to suspend all expulsions of Roma."

...

The resolution, presented by socialist, liberal, green and hard-left groups, was approved with 377 votes in favour, 245 against and 51 abstentions.

Two conservative groups, including the one which Sarkozy's party is affiliated to, presented an alternative resolution which avoided criticism of French measures. But it was defeated in a 287-328 vote, with 328 abstentions.

The resolution asks the Commission to consider whether France is violating the EU treaties on free movement of persons.

Of course, France routinely violates the Schengen agreement by requiring to see all passengers' IDs on night trains crossing its border to Spain, so this is not entirely surprising on the part of France.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

FT.com / Companies / Airlines - Ryanair talk of aircraft spree damps dividend hopes

Michael O'Leary could be back in the market to buy up to 300 aircraft in a multibillion-dollar spend that could scupper investors' hopes of future dividends from the European budget airline.

He also revealed he is writing to aviation authorities for permission to use only one pilot per flight because he says co-pilots are unnecessary in modern jets where "the computer does most of the flying now".

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

BBC News - Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs fined £20m by UK's FSA

Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs has been fined £20m ($31m) by the UK City regulator, the Financial Services Authority, the BBC has learned.

The fine is for failing to tell the FSA it was under investigation for fraud by the US financial watchdog this summer.

In July, Goldman settled the fraud charge with the Securities and Exchange Committee by paying $550m (£356m).

The £20m is one of the heaviest fines ever imposed by the FSA, said the BBC's business editor Robert Peston.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

BBC News - Anglo Irish Bank to be broken up by Dublin

The Irish government has said it will break up the nationalised Anglo Irish Bank as part of the bank's resolution.

The failed lender will be split in two - a funding bank and an asset recovery bank, the finance ministry said.

The asset recovery bank would retain a banking licence, but would focus on managing the existing loans inherited by Dublin when it took over the bank.

The funding bank, meanwhile, will hold all of Anglo's deposits and will not engage in any new lending.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

An economy kept afloat by mafia cash is not just the stuff of Le Carré thrillers | Jonathan Freedland | Comment is free | The Guardian

He is bull-necked and barrel-chested, bald and foul-mouthed, the owner of a bejewelled Rolex and the hundreds of millions - perhaps billions - that go with it. His English is Russian-accented and salted with expletives. He is holidaying in Antigua, on a peninsula that he owns in its entirety. He is the kingpin in a brotherhood of Russian super-criminals, a financial whiz who until now has acted as a human Laundromat, expertly washing clean his fellow crooks' soiled fortunes. But now he has made covert contact with the British authorities: he wants to be an informant, a mega-grass who will reveal the secrets of the dark underworld he has inhabited for so long.

If that sounds like the plot of a thriller, that's because it's the set-up of the new and utterly riveting John le Carré novel, Our Kind of Traitor. The Russian gangster is Dima, whose fate we follow as a rogue unit in British intelligence seeks to reel the would-be defector in to safety on England's shores.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

The puzzling success of trend-following investment strategies | Gavyn Davies | FT.com

Andrew Haldane is an economist at the Bank of England who writes some of the most interesting stuff available on the (mis)behaviour of the financial sector, and I recommend his recent speech on Patience and Finance. This argues that patience (or long-sightedness) is an economic virtue, the exercise of which should lead to faster GDP growth, higher returns to fund managers, and a sounder financial system. However, the part of his speech which I found most fascinating seemed to contradict this conclusion. This is an assessment of investment strategies which are based on momentum in asset prices, rather than long term economic fundamentals. Momentum wins the race hands down

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

CHART OF THE DAY: A Huge Chunk Of The Old Stimulus Hasn't Even Hit The Economy Yet | TPM LiveWire

Despite talk about how the U.S. economy will soon lose the support of economic stimulus, or that stimulus 'hasn't worked', U.S. fiscal stimulus for the economy is far from finished, and this doesn't even consider additional measures being debated.

This is because a large chunk of the 'old stimulus' hasn't even hit the economy yet.

As shown below using data from ProPublica, 35% of the government's $790 billion original fiscal stimulus program (started in early 2009) is still on the way. 'Tax cuts remaining' and 'stimulus money either unspent or in progress' total $278 billion dollars.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

FT.com / Columnists / Martin Wolf - Germans are wrong: the eurozone is good for them

Which country is the biggest gainer from the creation of the eurozone? My answer would be Germany. This view is hardly accepted in Germany itself. But such scepticism needs to evaporate. Not only is Germany a beneficiary, but it needs to recognise this far more clearly than now. Only then are Germans likely to support the reforms the eurozone needs.EDITOR'S CHOICEMore from Martin Wolf - Sep-02Martin Wolf's Exchange - Sep-02Economists' Forum - Oct-01

The starting point must be that the crisis is not dead, but sleeping. José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, claimed in his "state of the union" speech on Tuesday that "the economic outlook in the European Union today is better than one year ago, not ... least as a result of our determined action". This is true. But confidence has definitely not been restored (see chart). Further shocks are likely.

So why, when confronting those shocks, should Germans accept that they have an overwhelming interest in the success of the eurozone? The immediate answer is that the economy is hugely dependent on exports for demand (see chart). From 2000 to 2008 external demand generated as much as two-thirds of the growth in overall demand for German output. Germany needs both captive markets and a competitive exchange rate. The eurozone has delivered both, to an inordinate degree: the crisis in the periphery has dragged down the value of the euro; and many of Germany's eurozone partners (who absorb two-fifths of its exports - nine times as much as China) are uncompetitive, after a decade of rising relative costs.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

FT.com / Companies / Banks - Prosecutor launches new front in the war on Wall Street fraud

A top federal prosecutor in New York will on Thursday declare another front in the war on Wall Street fraud, focusing new resources on civil litigation to complement existing criminal actions.

The move by Preet Bharara, US attorney for the southern district of New York, comes amid criticism of the relatively small number of criminal prosecutions brought after the financial crisis. The district has mounted high-profile prosecutions after previous crises.

"Not every case is a criminal case," Mr Bharara told the Financial Times. "It's important for us that we deploy all the tools we have, even in cases where a criminal prosecution is not appropriate."

Mr Bharara will announce the appointment of Heidi Wendel, a former New York state deputy attorney-general, to head a six-strong unit focused on taking civil enforcement action against fraud. Her remit covers "every single type of fraud", including complex financial misconduct, mortgage deals, abuse of the government's troubled asset relief programme and healthcare scams, Mr Bharara said.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

FT.com / China / Regulation & Reform - China bank regulator warns on risk

China's main bank regulator has warned that serious risks are building up in the financial sector and specifically linked improving financial risk management to the "important task" of maintaining social stability in the country.

The comments from Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, contrasted with the bullish outlook presented by most state-controlled banks in their interim reports in recent weeks .

The banks mostly dismissed concerns about risks building up on their balance sheets following an unprecedented credit boom over the last two years.

Mr Liu said financial institutions needed to improve the design, implementation and application of "stress tests" conducted recently to assess how vulnerable they are to a downturn in the economy or a crash in the property market

"The risk management system in the Chinese banking sector still has many weaknesses," Mr Liu said in comments published Wednesday. "We must not ignore the hidden systemic risks and dangers."

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Wall Street Firms to Cut 80,000 Jobs in 18 Months, Whitney Says - Bloomberg

Securities firms around the world will cut as many as 80,000 jobs in the next 18 months as revenue growth begins to slow, said Meredith Whitney, the former Oppenheimer & Co. analyst who now runs her own firm.

The reductions, about 10 percent of current levels, will come after 2010 compensation payments, Whitney, 40, said in a report dated Aug. 31 and obtained by Bloomberg News today. The industry's payouts will be "down dramatically," said Whitney, who started New York-based Meredith Whitney Group after correctly predicting Citigroup Inc.'s dividend cut in 2007.

"The key product drivers of Wall Street's revenues and profits over the past decade have been in a structural decline over the past three years," Whitney said in the report. "2010 marks the first year in many in which Wall Street-centric firms will go through structural changes."

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

The Bears and the State of Housing   David Leonhardt  NYT

Of all the uncertainties in our halting economic recovery, the housing market may be the most confusing of all.

....

I can't claim to clear up all the uncertainty. But I do want to suggest a framework for figuring out whether you lean bearish or less bearish: do you believe that housing is a luxury good and that societies spend more on it as they get richer? Or do you think it's more like food, clothing and other staples that account for an ever smaller share of consumer spending over time?

If you believe housing resembles a luxury good, then you'll end up thinking house prices will rise nearly as fast as incomes in the long run and that houses today aren't terribly overvalued. If housing is a staple, though, prices will rise more slowly -- with general inflation, as food tends to.

...

Here's the scary thing, at least for homeowners: if this view is correct, house prices may still be overvalued by something like 30 percent. That's roughly the gap between average household income growth and inflation over the last generation.

It's also the overvaluation suggested by Mr. Shiller's historical index. Today, it is around 130, which is way down from the 2006 bubble peak of 203. But it's still far above the 1890 to 1970 average of 94.

But there is a hole in the bull argument. In order for housing prices to rise due to rising incomes - incomes have to actually rise! Duh! The only place this seems to be happening is in the financial sector, but that is where all of the bull's friends are so perhaps that is all they see. And, if Meridith Whitney is to be believed, that is soon coming to an end in much of the financial sector.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

FT.com / Japan - Japan alarm over Chinese JGB purchases

The Japanese finance minister has raised concerns about China's recent sharp increase in purchases of Japanese government bonds, highlighting nervousness about its impact on the strengthening yen.

"There is something unnatural about the fact that China can buy Japanese government bonds while Japan cannot [buy Chinese bonds]," Yoshihiko Noda said. "There is room for both governments to hold discussions with an eye towards improving that situation."

In the first seven months of this year, Chinese purchases of JGBs had come to a net Y2,315.9bn ($27.6bn), Mr Noda said.

While the finance minister failed to link Chinese purchases of Japanese bonds to the rise of the yen, he pointed to China's purchase of a "huge amount of short-term" JGBs in May and said Japan wanted to know what was behind the build up.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Guest Post: Why Current Food Scares are Overhyped « naked capitalism

There has been much in the news lately discussing food inflation, speculation, and global food supply scares. Much of the supply issue, as of now, is hype, sensationalism, and lazy reporting, which is why I put together this chart from the very recent FAO September 1, 2010 updated report. This year's cereal use is expected to be slightly higher than production, but is expected to end at 23%, down 2% from last year. Last year's opening stocks were at an eight-year high. During the food crisis of 2007/08 cereal stocks-to-use hit a low of 19.5%.

Food inflation in Asia and other nations, however, is very real and concerning. Policy determines much in agriculture, and food inflation is no exception. Why do they riot in Mozambique over bread prices? Because their governing situation is worsening and because it sets the price of bread. Domestic policy changes in Mozambique such as less wheat and gas subsidization due to deteriorating national finances which have resulted in a greatly devalued currency explain both the food inflation and the frustration of the citizens. In poorer nations, citizens spend much more of their income on food.

...

Currently, slack remains in the agricultural commodity production system. This should afford reasonable global food security for some time, however, it is always subject to the unpredictable wildcards of weather and geopolitics. A sustained global deflationary period would also provide a short-term oversupply of agricultural commodities.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Ismael Hossein-Zadeh: Race to the Bottom

Of course, destructive effects of international capital's blackmailing policy (of plant relocation or capital flight) reach beyond the curtailment or elimination of jobs and wages--vital as these are to the working class. This pernicious policy has become a weapon in the hands of the footloose and fancy-free multinational capital when it opposes any humane social program, or essential social needs: science, technology, education, health care, use of natural and/or environmental resources, and so on. Attempts to place environmental standards on firms are met with the threat of moving production elsewhere. Higher taxes to improve the schools? Again, the same threat. Better health and safety standards? The same response, or blackmailing strategy.

What can the working people and other grassroots do to protect their jobs, their sources of livelihood, their communities and their environment? Is there a defense against these threats? Are there alternatives to the global corporate agenda? What can communities do to undermine the strategies of multinational corporations that block progressive social and economic reforms?

A logical, first step deterrent to multinational corporations' blackmailing strategies, and their actual export of jobs, would be to remove the lures that induce plant relocation, or capital/manufacturing flight. Making labor costs of production comparable on an international level would be crucial for this purpose. This would entail taking the necessary steps toward the establishment of wage parity within the same company and the same trade, subject to (a) the cost of living, and (b) productivity in each country. It would also entail abandoning the current business unionist policies of the labor bureaucracy in major industrialized countries and, instead, organizing international trade unions.

Hopeful pessimist, hopeless optimist, it's a fine line

Mike Whitney: European Banks Still on the Brink

The EU banking system is in big trouble. That's why European Central Bank (ECB) head Jean-Claude Trichet continues to purchase government bonds and provide "unlimited funds" for underwater banks. It's an effort to prevent a financial system meltdown that could wipe out bondholders and plunge the economy back into recession.

"We have the best track record on price stability over 11 1/2 years in Europe and among the legacy currencies," Trichet recently boasted. "What we have done and what we do with the same purpose is to help restore an appropriate functioning of the monetary-policy transmission mechanism."

Nonsense. EU banks and other financial institutions are presently holding more than 2 trillion euros of public and private debt from Greece, Spain and Portugal. All three countries are in deep distress and face sharp downgrades on their sovereign debt. The potential losses put large parts of the EU banking system at risk. Trichet knows this, which is why he continues to support the teetering system with "unlimited funds". It has nothing to do with restoring the "functioning of the monetary-policy transmission mechanism". That's deliberately misleading. It is a straightforward bailout of the banks.

Imagine that you are deeply in debt, but the bank offers to lend you as much money as you need to keep you from bankruptcy. To help maintain appearances, the bank agrees to accept the worthless junk you've collected in your attic in exchange for multi-million dollar loans. Does the bank's participation in this charade mean that you are not really broke after all? Does it increase the value of the garbage collateral you've exchanged for cash?

The ECB is providing billions of euros per week to maintain the illusion that the market is wrong about the true value of the bonds. But the market is not wrong, the ECB is wrong. The value of Greek bonds (for example) has dropped precipitously. They are worth less, which means the banks need to take a haircut and write down the losses. More liquidity merely hides the problem.

This is from Reuters:

"Despite the open-arms approach, outstanding ECB lending has fallen more than a third since the start of July to 592 billion euros.... Liquidity remains abundant though. Over 120 billion euros was deposited back at the ECB overnight, the latest figures show."

So, overnight deposits are increasing because the wholesale funding market is on the fritz, while--at the same time--the ECB has had to lend more than half a trillion euros to stabilize the under-capitalized banking system. This is progress? It's a farce.

Hopeful pessimist, hopeless optimist, it's a fine line

BBC News - US pastor has 'no intention' of stopping Koran bonfire

A US pastor says he is not "backing down" from plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11, despite international outrage.

"We are not convinced that backing down is the right thing," said Terry Jones of 50-member Florida church, the Dove World Outreach Center.

The group's plan has sparked condemnation from Muslim countries, Nato and the top US Afghan commander.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the plan "disgraceful".

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

Fidel: 'Cuban Model Doesn't Even Work For Us Anymore' - International - The Atlantic

There were many odd things about my recent Havana stopover (apart from the dolphin show, which I'll get to shortly), but one of the most unusual was Fidel Castro's level of self-reflection. I only have limited experience with Communist autocrats (I have more experience with non-Communist autocrats) but it seemed truly striking that Castro was willing to admit that he misplayed his hand at a crucial moment in the Cuban Missile Crisis (you can read about what he said toward the end of my previous post - but he said, in so many words, that he regrets asking Khruschev to nuke the U.S.).

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

TEGUCIGALPA - At least 15 people were shot to death Tuesday at a shoe factory in the northern Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, police said.

Colombia Reports: The Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) confirmed Tuesday  in Bogota that a graveyard located in La Macarena, in Colombia's south-east Meta department contains at least 446 unidentified bodies that were reported as guerrillas killed in combat with the armed forces. The UNHCR undertook an analysis of the La Macarena graveyard, following concerns from human rights organizations that the cemetery may have been used as a mass grave to house up to 2,000 bodies, among them alleged victims of extrajudicial killings.

SAN JUAN - Puerto Rican authorities declared a public health emergency after the confirmation of 10 new deaths from dengue fever, which could cause record levels of fatalities in 2010 if the current trend is maintained. Chief epidemiologist Carmen de la Seda said Tuesday that the emergency declaration will immediately result in doctors with certain specialties receiving a course in detection and treatment of the disease.

BRIDGEPORT, USA (MCT) -- A three-month window lawmakers established for Puerto Ricans to apply for new, more-secure birth certificates is three weeks from closing. On September 30, Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1 will become invalid. The deadline is significant to US residents who were born in the US territory and must soon display proof of their birth certificate for a transaction or official purpose. Residents of Puerto Rican descent who soon plan to get married, register a child for school for the first time or apply for a driver's license or passport for the first time will need the new certificate to do so. The document upgrade was conceived on the heels of a recent finding that Puerto Rican birth certificates enabled more than 40 percent of 8,000 American passport fraud cases recently investigated by the US State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

SANTIAGO, Sep 8, 2010 (IPS) - Latin American activists who want to call attention to mining developments located in border areas will gather in Chile to "pass judgement" on projects they regard as detrimental to local communities, the environment and national security. "One of the features of mining today is its expansion into traditionally untouched areas, where entry was forbidden for geopolitical or national security reasons, like border zones," Lucio Cuenca, of the Chilean branch of the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA), told IPS. OLCA is one of the organisers of the first ethics tribunal against border mining, to be convened Sept. 30 in the Chilean capital. Projects on the borders between Argentina and Chile, Ecuador and Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, El Salvador and Guatemala, Mexico and Guatemala, and Costa Rica and Nicaragua will be examined.

Center for Economic Policy and Research, Venezuela: This paper examines recent economic data, including the most recent data released the third week of August 2010, in an attempt to evaluate the Venezuelan economy's prospects in the foreseeable future. It finds that the Venezuelan economy, which went into recession in the first quarter of 2009 after six years of record economic growth, is now most likely in recovery, and that the 2009 recession has probably ended. This is based on seasonally adjusted quarterly data, which show that the Venezuelan economy grew by an estimated 5.2 percent in the second quarter of 2010, on an annualized basis.

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- At least 22 Mexican journalists have been killed over the past four years, according to a U.S.-based media watchdog group that is calling on the government to respond forcefully to the dangers facing reporters who cover the country's drug war. (...) ''Violence against the press has swept the nation and destroyed Mexicans' right to freedom of expression,'' the report said. ''This national crisis demands a full-scale federal response.''

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

Court Sides With C.I.A. on 'Extraordinary Rendition' - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit involving the Central Intelligence Agency's practice of seizing terrorism suspects and transferring them to other countries for imprisonment and interrogation. The ruling handed a major victory to the Obama administration in its effort to advance a sweeping view of executive secrecy power.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

FT.com / Asia-Pacific - Afghan elite enjoys high life in Dubai

Dubai has become a magnet for Afghanistan's smattering of nouveau riche: many invested heavily in the emirate's seemingly never-ending real estate fairytale.

However, the financial crisis abruptly ended Dubai's property boom, and a scandal involving Kabul Bank, Afghanistan's largest private lender, has highlighted the close but opaque ties between the Gulf's commercial entrepot and the Afghan elite. The bank's travails have also involved the blood relatives and political allies of President Hamid Karzai.

It recently emerged that Sherkhan Farnood, then chairman of Kabul Bank and a key supporter of Mr Karzai's government, had used the bank's money to invest in Dubai real estate, including villas on the Palm Jumeirah artificial island. This helped trigger panic among depositors and his ousting from the bank by the regulator.

Mahmoud Karzai, the Afghan president's brother and the bank's third largest shareholder, with a 7.4 per cent stake, lives in a beachside villa in Dubai.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Court Sides With C.I.A. on 'Extraordinary Rendition' - NYTimes.com

A sharply divided federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit involving the Central Intelligence Agency's practice of seizing terrorism suspects and transferring them to other countries for imprisonment and interrogation. The ruling handed a major victory to the Obama administration in its effort to advance a sweeping view of executive secrecy power.

By a six-to-five vote, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reversing an earlier decision, dismissed a lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., a Boeing subsidiary accused of arranging flights for the C.I.A.'s "extraordinary rendition" program, as it is known. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the case on behalf of five former prisoners who say they were tortured because of the program - and that Jeppesen was complicit in their treatment.

Judge Raymond C. Fisher described the case as presenting "a painful conflict between human rights and national security." But, he said, the majority had "reluctantly" concluded that the lawsuit represented "a rare case" in which the government's need to protect state secrets trumped the plaintiffs' need to have any day in court.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

China Takes Lead in Clean Energy, With Aggressive State Aid - NYTimes.com

The booming Chinese clean energy sector, now more than a million jobs strong, is quickly coming to dominate the production of technologies essential to slowing global warming and other forms of air pollution. Such technologies are needed to assure adequate energy as the world's population grows by nearly a third, to nine billion people by the middle of the century, while oil and coal reserves dwindle.

But much of China's clean energy success lies in aggressive government policies that help this crucial export industry in ways most other governments do not. These measures risk breaking international rules to which China and almost all other nations subscribe, according to some trade experts interviewed by The New York Times.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

France24 - Iran appeals for help in beating opium traders

Thousands of Iranian narcotics agents have been killed and billions of dollars spent in Iran's fight against the opium trade, the country's ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday.

The ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, told the UN General Assembly his country needs more international help to combat the narcotics trade which he said was the "main financial source" for militant groups in the region.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Major Announcement w/Mike Gravel  by Free Society at Docudarma

National Press Club, Washington DC, 2:00 pm, Thursday, September 9, 2010

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 PRNewswire-USNewswire -- On Thursday September 9, 2010, Mike Gravel and Richard Gage will host a central press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, presenting hard evidence that all three WTC skyscrapers on September 11, 2001, in NYC were destroyed by explosive controlled demolition.

Senator Gravel notes, "Critically important evidence has come forward after the original government building reports were completed."

This press conference will be webcast at AE911Truth.org and hosted concurrently in cities throughout the world.*  Following the conference, there will be a mock debate during which public statements made by government investigators and other defenders of the official account will be presented and responded to in multimedia format.  "They refuse to debate us in person," says Gage, "so we will let their public statements represent them."

Gage will release a media-friendly summary of his organization's findings, which are based on forensic evidence as well as video and eyewitness testimony that were omitted from official reports.  

He will show evidence that the WTC Twin Towers were not destroyed by jet plane impacts or fires, but by pre-set explosives and incendiaries.  The non-profit organization, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, will also call for a grand jury investigation of government report lead engineers Shyam Sunder and John Gross of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "They were in a position to know the evidence we have been presenting," says Gage.

Also speaking will be Florida State Professor Lance deHaven-Smith, who coined the academic term State Crimes Against Democracy (SCAD).  Prof. deHaven-Smith has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CBS Nightly News with Dan Rather, and other national TV/radio shows.  

The DC press conference will be accessible via webcast AE911Truth.org, 2:00 pm September 9, 2010.

* For information on satellite press conferences in your area, contact CongressionalOutreachTeam [at] ae911truth.org.

To arrange print/broadcast interviews, with Richard Gage, AIA, contact Tania at 510-292-4710, or via email at 1000 [at] ae911truth.org.  

CONTACT: David Slesinger  410-499-5403

SOURCE Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

It will be interesting to see if this press conference goes off as scheduled, if there is ANY MSM coverage, and if so, what form it will take. I will at least give their evidence and arguments a look and a listen. What I have seen earlier on this topic I have found plausible. Equally interesting is the question as to what evidence, if any, would ever be considered adequate to launch a truly independent investigation of these events.  I will close with my old sig line:

If sanity be culturally normative, then by the norms of this culture I claim insanity.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as trophies' | World news | The Guardian

Twelve American soldiers face charges over a secret "kill team" that allegedly blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as trophies.

Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in separate attacks this year. Seven others are accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses, including members of the unit smoking hashish stolen from civilians.

In one of the most serious accusations of war crimes to emerge from the Afghan conflict, the killings are alleged to have been carried out by members of a Stryker infantry brigade based in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

The Atlantic: Fidel: 'Cuban Model Doesn't Even Work For Us Anymore'

This struck me as the mother of all Emily Litella moments. Did the leader of the Revolution just say, in essence, "Never mind"?

I asked Julia to interpret this stunning statement for me. She said, "He wasn't rejecting the ideas of the Revolution. I took it to be an acknowledgment that under 'the Cuban model' the state has much too big a role in the economic life of the country."

Julia pointed out that one effect of such a sentiment might be to create space for his brother, Raul, who is now president, to enact the necessary reforms in the face of what will surely be push-back from orthodox communists within the Party and the bureaucracy.  Raul Castro is already loosening the state's hold on the economy. He recently announced, in fact, that small businesses can now operate and that foreign investors could now buy Cuban real estate. (The joke of this new announcement, of course, is that Americans are not allowed to invest in Cuba, not because of Cuban policy, but because of American policy. In other words, Cuba is beginning to adopt the sort of economic ideas that America has long-demanded it adopt, but Americans are not allowed to participate in this free-market experiment because of our government's hypocritical and stupidly self-defeating embargo policy. We'll regret this, of course, when Cubans partner with Europeans and Brazilians to buy up all the best hotels).

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

FT.com / Asia-Pacific - Taliban chief says Afghanistan victory close

Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar said on Wednesday his fighters were close to victory in driving foreign forces out of Afghanistan, flouting claims of progress against the militants by the top military commander there.

In a statement e-mailed to the media marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and attributed to the reclusive Taliban chief, Mr Omar called on President Barack Obama to withdraw US troops "unconditionally and as soon as possible".

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Car bomb attack on Somalia's main airport kills 2 - World news - Africa - Somalia - msnbc.com

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A Somali security official says a car bomb has exploded at the front gate of Mogadishu's airport and that he believes two women were killed.

Somali army official Abdul Rahman Yussef says that vehicles with the African Union blocked the vehicle from gaining entry into the airport.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

Oxburgh: UEA vice-chancellor was wrong to tell MPs he would investigate climate research | Environment | The Guardian

The vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia gave "inaccurate" information to MPs when he told them that the university was setting up an inquiry into the reliability of key scientific climate change papers produced by his researchers, according to the man who led the inquiry.

Lord Oxburgh told MPs on the science and technology select committee today that Edward Acton had been wrong to tell the same committee in March that his inquiry would look into the science itself.

"I think that was inaccurate," he told the MPs. "This had to be done rapidly. This was their concern. They really wanted something within a month. There was no way our panel could evaluate the science."

Committee member Graham Stringer MP said this went against what the university had said at the time.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

BBC News - EU tightens rules on welfare of lab animals

The EU has agreed on new rules aimed at reducing the number of animals used in lab experiments and tightening controls over such procedures.

Euro MPs backed the new EU directive after long negotiations and EU member states have two years to make it law.

Labs will have to get approval from national authorities for animal tests and if recognised alternatives exist then they must be used, the rules say.

Animal welfare groups say the directive still does not go far enough.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

BP oil spill investigators place much of blame on Transocean | Environment | guardian.co.uk

A war of words broke out today between BP and Transocean after a long-awaited report by the oil company into the worst crude spill in US history placed much of the blame on the US rig operator.

The investigation team working for BP avoided making many references by name to Transocean in its summary but claimed that "multiple companies" and mistakes were at the heart of the Deepwater Horizon blowout.

It went on to list eight key findings related to the causes of the accident and at least five of them appeared to come under the area of responsibility that could be attributed to Transocean rather than BP.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

China blacks out towns to meet energy goal | Joe McDonald - The Associated Press

... "You could say local governments are trying to blackmail the central government: If you order me to do something I can't deliver, I will pass on the pressure to ordinary people," said Yang Ailun, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace China. ...

<...>

... Energy intensity fell by 14.4 percent by the end of 2009 after thousands of antiquated steel mills and other factories were forced to close, the government says. But it crept back up by 0.9 percent in the first half of this year.

Beijing reacted by ordering 2,087 steel and cement mills and other factories with poor environmental controls to close. The Cabinet stepped up pressure on local leaders by sending inspectors to 18 of China's 32 provinces and major regions to enforce efficiency.

"They understand that if they fail to meet this target it could potentially cast doubt not just internationally but domestically about whether China is serious about tackling its emissions," said Greenpeace's Yang.

Yang said environmentalists welcome moves to close antiquated factories because that improves overall efficiency. But she said temporary blanket cuts come at a high social cost and the government should be taking more long-term steps such as changing energy pricing to encourage conservation.

"What they are doing now is relying too much on harsh administrative orders," she said.

In some ways, the power cuts are backfiring. Han, the manager in Anping, said his wire factory coped by purchasing its own generator. So it still uses power -- but from a source that might be dirtier and less efficient. ...

Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes.

Study slashes estimated rates of ice loss from Greenland, West Antarctica | Raw Story

Estimates of the rate of ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica, one of the most worrying questions in the global warming debate, should be halved, according to Dutch and US scientists.
...
But, according to the new study, published in the September issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, the ice estimates fail to correct for a phenomenon known as glacial isostatic adjustment.

This is the term for the rebounding of Earth's crust following the last Ice Age.
...
"The corrections for deformations of the Earth's crust have a considerable effect on the amount of ice that is estimated to be melting each year," said Vermeersen, whose team worked with NASA's Jet Propulsation Laboratory and the Netherlands Institute for Space Research.

Hat tip naked capitalism

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Tropical Storm Igor Heads West, Forecast to Be Major Hurricane - Bloomberg

Tropical Storm Igor strengthened off the coast of Africa and is forecast to become a hurricane by this weekend on a track that will take it due west over some of the Atlantic's warmest water, the National Hurricane Center said.
...
Igor, the ninth named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, will travel over water that is breaking records for ocean warmth. Hurricanes draw energy from hotter water, and sea surface temperatures in the area were 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit above normal during the last week in August.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Washington Independent: U.S. Utilities Grapple With How to Pay For, Install Lines to Move Wind Energy From West to East

Behind the scenes, in recent months, utilities have battled over how to allocate the costs of the new high-powered electric lines necessary to move wind energy from one part of the country to the other. Despite efforts by federal regulators to referee the fight, some experts foresee further delays in the construction of the new electric, or transmission, lines they say are essential for meeting federal and state renewable energy mandates.

"A lack of transmission lines is the single greatest barrier to wind here in the Midwest. The lack of transmission has proved to be a huge barrier," says Jamie Karnik, communications manager at Wind on the Wires, an advocacy group. Karnik says the Midwest produces about 10,000 megawatts of wind now, and needs to build at least 25,000 to 40,000 further megawatts of capacity to meet state and regional renewable energy goals.

Many utilities in the wind-rich Midwest would like to move excess electricity to the Northeast on new, high-powered lines. But utilities in the Northeast see Midwestern wind as a threat to its nascent offshore wind industry. While offshore wind is plentiful in the region, it has been plagued by regulatory delays and high costs. Cheap wind from the Midwest could keep the Northeast from developing its own local source of renewable power.

Lichens: Fungi That Have Discovered Agriculture | Unusual Organisms | DISCOVER Magazine

For hundreds of years, naturalists didn't quite comprehend what they were. Originally these odd forms were thought to be part of the plant kingdom, which is why we still see lichens collected by botanical gardens. Eventually, microscopy enabled scientists to identify lichens as composites of mutually beneficial fungi and algae. Because fungi take the more dominant role and cultivate photosynthesizing algae for food, in return providing them a shady, moist, vitamin-rich environment, scientists have classified lichens based on their fungi species. Their identity came into dispute again when blue-green algae, a frequent component of lichens, were reclassified as cyanobacteria, a kind of bacteria that obtain energy through photosynthesis. But as it turned out, whether the fungi were harvesting algae or cyanobacteria, the symbiotic modus operandi of the lichens proved to be the same. Perhaps Trevor Goward, the lichen curator at the University of British Columbia Herbarium, describes them best. "Lichens," he says, "are fungi that have discovered agriculture."

My walks in the Ozark woods impressed upon me the lichens' diversity and the confusion they can create. Sometimes their identity was clear. A lichen species known as British soldiers sports distinctive, bright red caps atop green stalks. Old man's beard can run more than three feet long and hangs from trees in the manner of Spanish moss. But without a microscope to see green clusters or strings of photosynthetic organisms running like arteries through the fungal flesh, you cannot always tell you are seeing a colony of lichens. A colony might look like a plant, an uncomplicated fungus, or even a patch of rust: here a fence speckled in autumnal reds and yellows, there some orange lace spread on a stone.

Hopeful pessimist, hopeless optimist, it's a fine line

Image: Evamariakintzel/Wikimedia Commons

Elephants Roaming America? A Big Idea for Rebooting Nature | Ecosystems | DISCOVER Magazine

On the train headed north from Amsterdam's Central Station, be sure to sit to the left. Just past the town of Almere, as you round a right-hand bend, you will find a sight unseen in Europe for centuries, if not millennia: hundreds of red deer, plodding groups of long-horned wild cattle, and skittish herds of low-slung brown horses, all moving through the open landscape like something out of a cave painting. This place goes by the name of Oostvaardersplassen. It is a nature reserve, yes, but it is also a far-reaching experiment. Biologists worldwide are increasingly talking about using large herbivores like the ones sharp-eyed passengers can spot from the train to re-create prehistoric, and sometimes even prehuman, ecosystems.

When keystone species--from ancient mammoths, woolly rhinos, and giant bears to more prosaic grazers like bison, horses, and deer--are wiped out, ecosystems that had sustained themselves in perpetuity collapse. The result is a severe loss of biodiversity. By reintroducing approximations of extinct animals to modern habitats, rewilding advocates want to reestablish dynamic systems that have not existed since the rise of human settlement in Europe. This reserve is the first place where they have done more than talk. Just a short train ride from downtown Amsterdam, nearly 3,000 wild horses, deer, and descendants of prehistoric cattle roam a landscape that is being dramatically shaped by their presence.

The brainchild of a pugnacious Dutch ecologist named Frans Vera, Oostvaardersplassen is challenging some of our most basic assumptions about wildness.

Hopeful pessimist, hopeless optimist, it's a fine line

Channel NewsAsia - China most attractive renewable energy investment location - channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: China has succeeded the US as the most attractive location in which to invest in renewable energy projects.

That's according to Ernst & Young's latest renewable energy country attractiveness Indices.

The firm said China entered its country attractiveness indices table in 2004 and, since then, has progressed to the top of the all renewables Index.

In the last index, it was tied with the US, though it now has sole claim to the top spot with a score of 69.

Ernst & Young said China's steady rise to pole position has been underpinned by strong and consistent government support for renewable energy.

This, together with substantial commitment from industry and the sheer scale of its natural resources, helped it to maintain its top position for renewable energy investment.

The US dropped two points in the index to 67, falling behind China.

It fell after a federal Renewable Energy Standard was not enacted this summer.

Vencit omnia veritas.

News Corp. Is Freaking Out

For News Corp. and Murdoch it's a confounding situation. They had locked down this scandal. With as much clout as there is accumulated in one company and in one man in Britain, they had closed almost every avenue of investigation. Now comes the New York Times showing that British police, government, and media took a dive for Murdoch. Institutions fight for their own lives and reputations. They might have been willing to protect Murdoch and News Corp. but if it becomes necessary to have to throw him overboard to save themselves, they will.

That's the process that's started.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

BBC News - Vince Cable reveals a strategy to cut science funding

Business Secretary Vince Cable has unveiled plans for a squeeze on public funding for scientific research.

He urged universities to do "more for less" and said taxpayers should only back research that has a commercial use or was academically outstanding.

Mr Cable said in a speech in London that the government "values" UK science and research and spends £4.3bn a year.

However, Lord Rees, president of the Royal Society, said cutting science funding would be a false economy.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

Think Progress » GOP House Candidate On Civil Rights: `We Need To Get Our Federal Government Out Of The Way'

Fireworks occurred during a town hall in Canton, OH, last night when Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH) unexpectedly showed up at his Republican opponent's public event. Challenger Jim Renacci and Boccieri sparred for about 70 minutes in an unofficial first debate. And ThinkProgress was in attendance.

During the event, an African-American constituent named Robert Thompson asked Renacci what he would do on the issue of civil rights. Renacci's response: local control. He called civil rights "local issues" and said the solution is "to get our federal government out of the way" because "it's not the federal government's job":

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

New York Times Stock, Options Surge on Takeover Talk - Bloomberg

New York Times Co. was the biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and bullish options trading surged to a six-month high on renewed speculation the newspaper publisher may be acquired.
...
Billionaire Carlos Slim, who controls Mexico's biggest wireless and land-line phone companies, owns about 7 percent of New York Times's Class A shares. He also has warrants to buy enough stock to give him control of 16 percent of the shares.

"The rumor mill is being cranked up again saying Carlos Slim wants to buy the company," said Edward Atorino, an analyst at Benchmark Co. LLC in New York.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Savile Row Suit Retailer Says Coal Miners Spurring China Growth - Bloomberg

Trinity Ltd., owner of China retail rights for Savile Row suitmaker Gieves & Hawkes, will add 50 or more stores in smaller Chinese cities as incomes from booming coal and car industries spur demand for luxury clothes.

The store openings will give Trinity more than 500 outlets in China in 2011, after a similar level of expansion this year, Managing Director Sunny Wong Yat Ming said in an interview in Hong Kong. Locations will include Inner Mongolia, where Trinity plans to open 17 stores, and Zhoushan in eastern Zhejiang province, he said.

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

Beyond "Censored": What Craigslist's "Adult Services" Decision Means for Free Speech | Electronic Frontier Foundation

On Saturday, after years of pressure from law enforcement officials, Internet classified ad web site Craigslist bowed to demands to remove its "Adult Services" section which critics charged encouraged prostitution and other sex-related crimes. Or it least it appears that it did. Without explanation, following the latest in a series of open letters from state attorneys general decrying the third party content permitted on the site, Craigslist replaced the "Adult Services" link that formerly appeared on the front page of the site with a white-on-black "censored" bar. Whether this move will substantially affect the rate of illegal prostitution across the country remains to be seen. Many, even some of Craigslist's critics, appear to have their doubts. If nothing else, however, this latest turn in the AGs v. Craigslist saga underscores the misguided nature of the AGs' tactics as well as the fundamental disagreement that we (and Congress) have with the AGs' vision of how the Internet should operate.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.

I screwed this one up by being occupied elsewhere and forgetting about it. So it's DIY time, folks!

BBC Sport - Snooker - John Higgins cleared of match-fixing claims

John Higgins has been cleared of all match-fixing allegations made against him by the News of the World.

But at a hearing in London, he admitted bringing the game into disrepute by not reporting the illegal approach made to him to discuss throwing frames.

As a result, the three-time world snooker champion was fined £75,000 and banned for six months, backdated to May when he was originally suspended.

never let desperation get in the way of judgement.